CEREALS IN COMMERCE 571 



less degree or amount, and weigh 1 or 2 pounds less to the 

 bushel. Sometimes the difference is greater. Often a 

 certain grade of each class is adopted as a contract grade, 

 for example, No. 1 Northern Spring wheat, and all grain 

 deliverable on contract, or in exchange operations, must 

 be at least as good as this grade, or sometimes a lower 

 grade will be admitted at a designated discount. For 

 White oats, a separate grade of this kind, called Standard, 

 is made. Rejected barley is a grade lower than either 

 Brewing or Feed barley, with a test weight under 40 

 pounds to the bushel. 



629. Standardizing grades. It is often required that 

 No. 1 wheat shall be dry, without stating the degree of 

 dryness, though it is known that no grain is ever entirely 

 dry. The term " hard wheat " also is in common use 

 commercially, but as to the degree of hardness of kernel 

 that is necessary for a wheat to be called hard, there is no 

 agreement. In the United States Bureau of Plant In- 

 dustry, investigations of the qualities forming the bases 

 of different grades have been made for some time, with 

 the aim of creating standards for as many of these quali- 

 ties as possible, which would permit of more uniform grad- 

 ing. Considerable success has already followed the efforts, 

 but particularly in the determination of standards of 

 moisture content and the means for quickly ascertaining 

 the percentage of moisture in samples. These moisture 

 standards, and the means of testing moisture percentages, 

 have been adopted for corn at the grain exchanges. 



630. The moisture content. While water is the most 

 important factor in grain production, no quality of stored 

 grain is so important as dryness. In addition to in- 

 feriority of the grain for milling, excessive moisture 

 permits discoloration, molds, fermentation, and sprout- 



